Hi every my story is different to most.
A Little about myself and my situation I find myself in.
I'm I live in Ireland . I was married before to a U.S. Citizen ,divorced of course now ,but she is the mother of my child and she resides in the U.S.
I have a daughter who is a U.S. Citizen that is currently living with me .
I have a fiancé who is a U.S. Citizen and who lives in the USA .
My fiancé and I applied and were successful in getting the k1 visa in Dublin ,Ireland, but near the expiry date we felt we needed more time and it might be best that my daughter ,to see out the school year here in Ireland ,and that we thought we would reapply at a later date. But before we made a decision we emailed the embassy about was it possible to extend the visa , that way we would be able to tie up loose ends, but they phoned and said that was not possible, but they informed us that we could start the process over at a later date, so I told them I would discuss it with my fiancé and I would be in touch .
Over the next week or so we discussed it and decided , it was best not to put our selfs under to much pressure, and that my daughter could see out the school year here,and it was best to start the process over at a later date. I know your thinking you should have made sure you were ready before applying...and we were but life throws up unexpected things and we had a few set backs,when trying to tie up loose ends.
So we emailed the embassy in Dublin informing them , that we would no longer need the visa at this moment in time and we would like to reapply at a later date. They phoned and I asked how do I go about getting the visa removed or cancelled and the K1 pack back to them. They said you could send the package back to the Immigrant Visa Unit in Dublin and they would forward it to the relevant authorities. So I asked did they want my passport also, they said with only a few days left on the visa ,they didn't want it back as it is about to expire ,and seeing I wasn't planning on using the Visa.
So I sent the package back ...with a cover letter stating we weren't using it ,and thanking them for approving us in the first place , and with the emails I had sent earlier so they had aback ground to why we were sending it back .i kept a copy of those for my records , Dublin embassy has one for their records, I also taped a copy on to the K1visa pack as I'm sure that it would be sent back to America. I also took and have photos of the package with the stamp and tracking reference and who signed for it.
I then asked could I travel to the USA after the visa expired ,she said you need a tourist visa or ESTA ,but you may be denied entry ,it would be up to CBP ,if I would be allowed enter , which I understand it's a case by case basis.
I do have an esta I had that before I applied for the K1 visa and it doesn't expiry to 2017 .
My plan is to bring my daughter back to her mother in the USA after the school year finishes here in Ireland ,then fly on to my fiancé and spend a few days with her ,so we can spend time together and discuss when best to restart the process over before heading back to Ireland . On my current passport I have 18 U.S. Visits ,tmy last trip which was at the end of 2015 .
My concern of course is ,that I have an expired K1 visa on my passport ,which shows intent to immigrate. Which I'm not wanting to do that till I redo the paperwork with my fiancé and we are sure we have everything in place before we start that process .
Am I breaking any laws trying to enter the U.S. With an expired Visa on it ?
What is my status at the moment?
Can I use esta?
Do I need a Visa ?
What issues may I run in to at CBP?
How best can I get around any of these issues ,if they are any?
Can I be found inadmissible?
If I was found inadmissible is there anyway around that.
Any laws I may be in violation of if I try and enter?
I can't afford to be denied entry to the U.S. ,more so cos my daughter is going back to go to school there from now on after her year with me in Ireland . And also we probably would not be able to start the K1 process again.
I'm sure you might be able to see other areas that I may have issues when trying to enter the USA ,and hopefully solutions to my dilemma
What about the nationality act § 212(a) immigrant ? Any issues with that if I use esta?
I know nothing in life can be 100 percent guaranteed, but I just want to be able to go in and out of the USA ,until such time as we start the process over for the K1 visa .
I'm not looking to live there ,I want to just bring my daughter back to her mom, spend a few days with her in the U.S. , fly on to my fiancé as I say and head home to Ireland again .
Yes I'm sure we made mistakes ,maybe we should have contacted the embassy earlier,but it was a tough choice and we gave ourselves as much time as possible to make the right decision for us.
That's as much info as I can think of at the moment , I hope it is of some help so you have some pieces of the puzzle that is my dilemma.
I can't afford to make any mistakes that could end up costing me access to my daughter in the USA once she goes back, but also my relationship with my fiancé .
At this moment in time I dunno what to do ,or what way is it best to approach this issue
I look forward to hearing from you, hopefully you will be able to help.
Thanking you in advance
